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The Strade Bianche has quickly become one of the most thrilling and prestigious one-day races in the calendar. It is one of the physically most demanding races for riders and a real test for their equipment on the way to Piazza del Campo in Siena. The white roads and Tuscan hills are not a place reserved for professionals alone. When the pro riders will already lick their wounds on Sunday, hundreds of amateurs will fight their own battle on the exact same roads as their heroes the day before. A few days ago Anja Kallenbach brought out her bike for a track recon of what cyclists will be facing this Sunday. The changeable weather was a friendly reminder that one better should be prepared for all kind of conditions and bring – just like the pros – some warmer kit and a Gabba or Perfetto to be protected from the elements. Imagery and video: AK21Photography  |  Anja Kallenbach

The 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour is now here, with the official start on Wednesday, February 21. The 5-stage race in the Emirates will be more interesting than ever, as its route is supposed to shuffle the cards thanks to a new ITT, together with 3 sprint stages and a hilly day. As announced, we’re supplying the official jerseys of the leaders of the race. They were specifically studied for the Abu Dhabi race, and they are anatomically shaped for a perfect aerodynamic balance and performance. The 11.8 time trial kilometers are put on the fourth stage, just before the final stage to the mountain finish of Jebel Hafeet. Before that, 3 sprinter stages are going to lead the group around the Emirates. Here you can see the peloton training inside the Yas Marina F1 Circuit in Abu Dhabi, the same the F1 cars have been using since 2009. No, you won’t see any car racing from this Wednesday, but we love to think that in the desert of the Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Tour can be even more fascinating. Don’t forget there will be a mountain stage too – only Esteban Chaves, Tanel Kangert and former world champion Rui Costa managed to win the Tour ...

This weekend will see the start of the cobbled semi-classic races when the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne take place on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Both of these Belgian classics, just like all the others, are renowned for their harsh racing conditions: cold wet weather, wind, small roads, cobbled climbs and a big bunch. The opening cobbled Classic of the year is a moment of great excitement for cycling fans. The Belgian fans will be out in force as the strongmen gauge their form ahead of a key part of the season. To celebrate, we have decided to give away one pair of Omloop Thermal Bibshorts to 3 lucky owners of a Perfetto or Gabba Jersey.   HOW TO PARTICIPATE Upload your best on-bike photo to Facebook or Instagram wearing a Castelli Perfetto or Gabba product and include #omloopthermalshort or #omloopbibshort to show us you’re a true cyclist! We’ll feature the winning entries in our Instagram or Facebook feed on March 1st, 2018. CONTEST RULES 1. Follow @castellicycling on Instagram and Facebook 2. Post a NEW on-bike photo or REGRAM an old one showing us how much you like your Perfetto or Gabba jersey. 3. Use the hashtag #omloopthermalshort or #omloopbibshort 4. Tag @castellicycling in the photo 5. This contest begins at 12:00 a.m. Central European ...

When I see this on my training schedule, I know it’s going to be one of those days. I will go training for a maximum of two hours and come home broken. Even though it is hard, I also know it is one of my go to sessions to get ready for racing. Due to illness and injury I did not make worlds selection and as it is important to me to end this season on a positive note I decided to skip the January world cups and instead go on a training camp to get fit for the last cyclocross races of the season in Belgium in February. So I did this session twice while in the last block leading up to the races. What does 15-15-15 mean; 15 seconds sprinting, followed by 15 seconds maintaining the speed, followed by a 15 second rest. Do this for 10 minutes, have a 10 minutes break and do it again. I usually do this 4-5 times, so it simulates the length of a cyclocross race. What I like about this session is that it is very versatile and yet very specific. And as a bonus, you can do it both on ...

For the fifth time, Dubai is going to host the champions of the international peloton. The Dubai Tour is coming back with 5 stages from February 6th to 10th, and Castelli is providing the official jerseys of the race. The leader of the general classification is going to wear Castelli’s blue jersey. The red jersey goes to the points classification, the white jersey goes to the best young rider. The jersey with the UAE flag is dedicated to the intermediate sprint classification. To get the blue jersey, the riders will face 5 stages in the Dubai area of the United Arab Emirates. Four stages are dedicated to the sprinters, yet one stage is taking the peloton up to Hatta Dam in the Hajar Mountains. This particular stage is a comeback: last year, the Hatta Dam stage was canceled due to strong winds. This year the sprinters are called again to a good result in the Hajar Mountains to target the blue jersey. The race will host 9 UCI WorldTour Teams, 5 Professional Teams, 1 Continental Team and the UAE National Team. The last edition of the Tour was the fastest and longest ever: the average speed reached 45.59km/h, and Marcel Kittel ...